Spirited Away Again: Chihiro's Return
by Nevaeh Rei Sandz
Summary: Chihiro's 16th birthday is coming up, and Kohaku still has not come for her. She remembers the Spirit World like it was yesterday, and often dreams and draws it. Tired of waiting, Chihiro ventures back into the Spirit World, making new friends and facing new enemies. Can their love be enough to get them through this, or will all be lost?
1. Prologue

_"Will we meet again sometime?''_

_"Sure we will."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Promise."_

Kohaku watched Chihiro as she and her parents walked through the tunnel. _I'm going to miss her so much... _he thought. _Now, to go back and quit being that witch's apprentice. _He turned around and walked back to the bath house. The day was still early, so none of the spirits were out on the so called "abandoned" streets of the old theme park.

A sigh could be heard as he walked across the bridge. The train, just like every other day, rumbled beneath as Kohaku went through the blue curtains, without thought of it. He charged through the empty bath house and all the way to the top. Running to the purple door and without speaking to the gold door knocker, he slammed it open and flew into her office. Yubaba had seen him coming.

"Haku! I was just about to send for you. We need to talk—"

"What? Talk about my job? I quit!"

Yubaba laughed, then looked him in the eyes. She snickered, "You know the contract. What's your name?"

"Kohaku!"

"Humph. Well, before you decide to leave, I have something to give you. I'm leaving this bath house to own another, more suitable one a few miles down. This one is bound to poverty and too dull for my taste." She stood up and walked around her desk. "Do you want this one? I'll offer it for one million yen."

Stunned, Kohaku almost fainted. "Me? You want _me _to have the bath house?"

"Yes. You are my apprentice, after all. Do you want it or not? I suggest you take it before I change my mind and sell it to some other spirit willing to pay billions of yen."

Kohaku thought it over. "Sure, I supose so."

"I'll be leaving tomorrow night, so we can discuss the details later. I still have to pack to rest my clothes and money and...''

Kohaku nodded then silently went straight to his room to rest after all that had happened that day. He lay on his bed, thinking, _"Promise." Promise? How am I going to keep _that _promise?_

Chihiro watched the tunnel as her car drove away. A deep sadness filld her heart as she recalled their good times. Would she ever see him again? Would he keep his promise? Would she be able to remember him? How long will it be? How will her new life be like?

**END OF PROLOGUE**


	2. Chapter 1: The Life of Chihiro Ogino

**AN: **Hi there! Just want to say I wrote this a LOOONG time ago. I went through and edited it but there could still be mistakes. And I LOVE reviews. :D

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**CHAPTER 1:**

**The Life of Chihiro Ogino**

The sun slowly rose on the side of the hill that Chihiro lived on. Almost sixteen, she was in 10th grade. Chihiro dreamed about the Spirit World once more...

_In the distance, the Spirit World gate was coming into view, as well as a human-like figure._

_ "Haku? Kohaku!" _

"KOHAKU!" Chihiro screamed, finally waking from her deep sleep.

"_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.''_ Chihiro sighed_. Why do I keep dreaming that? _She leaned over to turn off her alarm clock and pulled her blue and white striped sheets. Twenty-five minutes later, she looked in the mirror at her tall legs, extraordinary figure, and long hair. She wore a silver V-neck sailor top and a gray ruffled skirt. Chihiro looked at the wall clock; 6:44 A.M. She hurried down stairs to the kitchen and got cereal and milk, grabbing a small, red bowl and mading her breakfast. When she was done, Chihiro put her dishes in the sink.

"Bye mom and dad!" Chihiro yelled as she ran out of the house with her black briefcase. She looked at her watch and kept running until she got to her bus stop, nearly a block away. It paid off to be on the track team.

"Chihiro?" her friend Haru asked her. One of Haru's large dark blue eyes were covered by his brown hair, which looked like it usually did; short with bangs he flipped to the side. Haru was wearing an orange long shirt underneath a black one and holding his blue CD player.

"HI," Chihiro blushed, realizing sh had zoned out.

"Did you study for the exams last night?"

"Stupid me!" Chihiro slapped her forehead and feeling the burn, screeched, "Ow! No, but I did Wednesday night. I wanted to study a few other things though." She frowned, now upset. The bus halted to a stop just as Haru was about to speak. Its clear glass doors flipped opened.

"Ladies first," he said.

"Whatever." Chihiro climbed aboard and sat by Haru like every other day.

"Haru?"

"Yes, Chihiro?"

"Do you think maybe you could come over to my house this afternoon to study for my triomotry quiz?"

"Meet me at my house at sixteen o'clock. Okay?"

"M'kay."

Someon miles away opened their piercing, lovely, green eyes. _"Promise." _He had regretted every night for that word. It cursed him with a promise he couldn't keep. He wished, with all his heart, he could go to the Human world and search for Chihiro. But he, of all spirits, knew that if they venture out into the Human World, unless in their birth place, they could turn into human within days. _COULD_; Spirits don't always turn mortal. Kohaku just couldn't take that risk, though.

"Master, I see you're up," said Kohaku's apprentice, Sakura. She put a tray of food on his table beside his bed. Sakura bowed, and left the room. _Mmm... I love when she cooks_, Kohaku thought as the smell wafted into his scenses.

He ate his breakfast thinking about Chihiro, the little girl he hepled years ago that he refused to forget. _Today_, he thought, _today I will use the necklace to go see Chihiro._

Chihiro wasn't struggling in her test, and knew some questions by heart. The room was silent and full of fifteen, sixteen, and a few seventeen year olds. Mr. Ogami looked up from his yaoi manga to check on the kids who were having a hard time.

For Chihiro, the day went by fast. She ate lunch with Haru, Aika, Kuro, and Hana. P.E. was a yawn compared to what Chihiro was imagining about. She caught herself many times daydreaming.

"Chihiro Ogino, pay attention!'' her teacher had snapped when she caught Chihiro staring off into space.

"Sorry, Mrs. Kolla..." she apologized, blushing from every one looking at her.

When Chihiro got on the bus to go home that afternoon, she had a ton of butterflies in her stomach. _What if Kohaku gets jealous? What if Haru thinks I'm crazy and that I set everything up? WHAT IF KOHAKU GOT A GIRLFRIEND?! Stop worrying about it! _Chihiro argued with herself. She sat down by Haru then looked at her watch; 15:28.

"Can you please at least give me a hint about where we're going?"

"No. You'll see when we get there!" Chihiro said. Haru had been bugging her all day about where they are going.

"Fine..." he said, sounding like a little child whining.

"I feel something coming... Could it be? No, no..." Kohaku was talking to himself with a pale face. Sakura thought he was ill.

"Master Kohaku, are you alright?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"OH!" he said, startled by her question. "Yes, I'm fine. Did I ever tell you the time humans came here?"

"No."

"Well, once a father brought his wife and ten year old child into this world. He smelled food, and followed the scent. He and his wife ate like pigs, so Yubaba, the former owner, turned her parents into pigs. I had to help her from disappearing. Yubaba took her name Chihiro and named her Sen. She worked here for days, until I became ill. Chihiro used medicine from a river god to help me. She even returned a gold seal I had taken from Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister. I flew to Zenibas to ask her for forgiveness myself, but Chihiro already had. Zeniba forgave me, and Chihiro flew with me back to the bath house. She returned my name, Kohaku River, and freed her parents. I'll never forget what happened that day..." _Nor will I forget her..._

"I made a promise to her that we would meet again... but I can't keep that promise unless I am willing to turn human forever... as you know..."

"That's so sad! It's like a love story."

"It is not!" Kohaku fumed, blushing.

"Oh! So you don't love her?"

"I didn't say that..." he mumbled.

But he didn't know she was already planning to come for him.

"See you at four!" Chihiro yelled after Haru.

"Yeah, yeah!"

Chihiro walked into her house and put her backpack on the blue, soft couch in her living room. She walked in the kitchen to find a note on the fridge that read:

_Dear Chihiro,_

_ Your dad and I have gone to do some business. Call me as soon as you read this. Thanks._

She called her mom right away. They had gone on a last minute business trip and wouldn't be back until late Sunday night. _How convenient_, Chihiro thought. _I can spend all weekend with Kohaku!_ Chihiro hurried up her stairs to her room and packed her clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, and brush. Then she remembered about Haru. _Should I call him? No, he can come back and get his stuff. t\That is, if he can handle the craziness of the Spirit World..._

She grabbed her bag and ran down stairs and outside. Her clock read 15:57. _Lucky me..._

"Chihiro!" Haru yelled from across Chihiro's yard.

"Come this way!" she yelled, pointing downhill.

Haru caught up and was breathing heavly. "Down there? That's nothing but a dead end!"

"Have you ever walked down there?"

"Well, no, but why? What's on those trails that is so interesting?''

"You'll see. Come on!" Chihiro started walking down the hill with her bag strap across her shoulder.

"Hey, why do you have that bag?" Haru asked as he followed her.

"I'm staying there for the weekend."

"Are you camping?"

"Yeah. Let's just say that."

The rest of the walk there was quiet. When they finally reached the tunnel, it looked just like it did all those years ago when Chihiro left it.

"We came all this way to see an old building?"

"No, stupid, we're going inside!" Chihiro pulled her flashlight out of her bag and turned it on. _Please be happy to see me, Kohaku..._

"Are you sure about this?"

"You're not _scared_, are you?" Chihiro said teasingly.

"No! Of course I'm not scared! But have you gone though this tunnel before?"

Memories of when she was ten came flooding back to her. Many seconds later, she answered, "Yes. A looong time ago. Now come on!" She ran forward with the flash light.

"Wait up!" Haru said, running after her. When they reached the room with all the benches beside the columns, he said, "Wow, this place is freaky."

"Yeah, but keep walking!" They walked out into the grassy field.

"This way." Chihiro guided him to the steps with the frog that sometimes created the ocean at night.

"Hmm. An old abandoned town."

"It's not abandoned," she argued. "It's just not beaming with business, yet. Follow me."

Chihiro ran up all the steps, until Haru said, "I think I smell food."

"Just keep following me. We're almost there."

Haru obeyed and ran with her 'till they reached the bath house. He looked at his hands when they stopped to rest.

"AH!" Haru yelled, being able to see through his fingers. Chihiro looked at hers, but she wasn't disappearing.

Chihiro grabbed Haru's wrist and ran to where she smelled food. She looked at all the food, and chose to give him a sushi roll.

"Here! Eat this so you won't disappear!" she yelled at him.

Haru took it gratefully, and ate it quickly. His hands started to reappear.

"Where the heck are we?!" Haru yelled, still confused.

"It's called the Spirit World. And that place up there is a bath house for spirits."

The sun finally set, and it was getting dark. All the lamps turned on, one at a time.

"Oh." Haru was still in a daze. "What do we do now?"

"We're going to see some old friends of mine," Chihiro replied, smiling as much as she could. She walked across the bridge quickly, Haru behind her. "We're gonna have to crawl through this small door, okay?"

He nodded, and Chihiro went first. She waited until Haru was out before she went through the "back door."

"Be careful going down these stairs. Last time one broke," Chihiro warned him. Luckily, they went down the steps without breaking any of them and falling like Chihiro did. She opened the green door to the boiler room without hesitation. Chihiro pulled Haru aside before walking in to see Kamajii.

"This guy's name is Kamajii, and he has six arms like a spider, so don't be freaked out."

"A spider?"

Chihiro heard the door Lin goes through slide open. It was now or never. Chihiro walked in with nervousnss and said, "Hi, Grandfather!"

Lin dropped her dishes that broke into peices and said, "Sen! What are you doing here?!"

Chihiro dropped her bag and gave Lin a hug.

"Oh! One sec guys! You can come in now, Haru."

Haru peered around the corner, then walked in and stood by Chihiro. "Hi," he said, dumbfounded and feeling left out.

"Haru, this is Lin and Kamajii," Chihiro said.

They all talked for a while then Chihiro finally asked, "What happened to Haku?"

Lin answered, "He runs the bath house, now. Yubaba finally left."

"Really?! That's great! I must go see him now. Let's go, Haru. We're going to see another great friend of mine!"

"Sakura, they're here! Clean up my office, I have to clean my room. We're having guests soon!" Kohaku was bushing his hair and changing, because it might be some one important. _I hope it's her..._

Chihiro was happy that the door knocker was gone. She ran, black bag across her shoulder bouncing, to the office she once knew.

"Wait up!" Haru yelled, falling behind. Chihiro stopped at the office door, where inside, she knew, was a boy that she met five years ago.

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**AN: **I hope you liked it! :3

By-hye!


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